Day After Thanksgiving Snow!

Matt and I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with our friends at John and Connie's home. It was a relaxing evening and we enjoyed the food. Matt and I made pumpkin and apple pie and Matt made rolls. That evening it began to snow - just enough to make things white.

Today, Matt and I got up and did some animal cage cleaning chores. Before we left, I noticed the birds out at my feeder were lining up on the crabapple tree, which is still sporting its red fruit. I took a few quick pics. The house finches with their red breasts look beautiful! It was hard to focus the camera with the window in the way though....



We left home to get the tree around 12:00, and noticed that although it wasn't sticking, there were some pretty big flakes coming down. By the time we got the tree it was snowing big old flakes and it looked like a Currier and Ives postcard! What fun! We managed to get the tree up on the truck and got it home in safety. Will post pics of the decorating etc. tomorrow!

The Joys of Teaching

So far in my teaching endeavors, I have learned what I thought I already knew - I really like teenagers. They crack me up. They usually have a great sense of humor, they can be VERY honest, and they thrive when challenged. So far, I have been in a high school biology classroom for two periods three times a week for the last five weeks. During that time, I have been able to teach four lessons, and have been on hand to answer questions (and direct traffic - an Anne specialty :>) during labs and individual work time. I am learning a lot of things from my cooperating teacher (the H.S. teacher whose classroom I spend time in), and have also learned a lot from my ed classes. To be honest, more than I anticipated I would.

Many of my classes have focused on inquiry methods which essentially consist of presenting students with a problem and allowing them to figure things out. The instructor provides directed-guiding questions when students are stuck or on the wrong track. This technique is usually applied to "lab type" activities. Although I would have hated them during high school...they really do require a higher level of thinking, and when mixed with other types of instruction, can really raise the level of students' confidence and ability to solve problems.

My schedule is a little crazy, but at least I stay busy which keeps me from feeling sorry for myself with Matt away. In addition to my full load of classes and 6 hours of high school class time a week, I am also teaching lab twice a week at EWU for a biology 101 class. It has been a good experience, and I have "remembered" a lot! It really is amazing how much you think you understand, but have difficulty applying until you teach it yourself! It has been good review.

I recently was made aware that I qualified for a second degree, Bachelors of Art in Education, instead of just earning my professional certification. So today I applied for graduation! Having an ed degree accompanied by a degree in my area of expertise should make me much more marketable as a teacher, as will my additional endorsements in general science and chemistry that I will also have earned.

So, I guess in a nutshell, I am having fun amidst the craziness! I love reading everyone's blogs (check them between classes!) Keep up the posts.